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CPPXRIGHT DEPOSm 



The Garden Patch 



'Twas Byron who said, 
"The ladies inspired the Muse." 
But to vegetables I'm wed. 
And dame nature choose. 



y/ 



Vv Cbpyright. 1912 
By Eiob.'TLINT. Los Gatos. Cal. 
All rights reserved 






DEDICATED TO 



My Garden Sprite. 
Whose wise advice, 
Prolonged my life. 



[2] 

CCI.A330494 



To 

Mr. Marksman who did not hit the mark 



A MAN & A HOE 



The man with a hoe, 
To his garden must go, 
If he wishes to see 
His vegetables grow. 

Any reasoning fox 
Can easily see 
The man's not an ox 
Tho' a laborer he be. 

By the hole in me coat 

I'm a skipper afloat, 

When out to my garden I go. 

I care not for heat. 

The dirt, or wet feet. 

While working with shovel and hoe. 



[3] 



"My way is to begin with the beginning." 



PREFACE 

This collection of Instructions how to grow 
vegetables is put into book form for the use of 
the amateur gardener. 

The writer has endeavored to stick closely to 
his subject and give in a compact and concise 
form the desired information so that the reader 
will not lose time in going over the book. 

It is arranged in alphabetical order with 
necessary index. 

A few people have what might be called a 
sixth sense, which enables them to feel a sym- 
pathy, a fellowship, with plants and trees. 
This feeling draws them together. To these 
people plants seem to have sense and feeling 
and they are sure to succeed as gardeners. 
Plants thrive and grow better under their care. 

Have you not met people who exclaim, "Is 
not that beautiful !" and show by their feeling 
that they are filled with joy, and others who 
seem indifferent and blind to the beauties 
around them? 

In the delicious freshness of the early morn- 
ing, rise with the sun and work in your garden. 
You can do all the work necessary before it is 

[4] 



time for breakfast and not get fatigued and hot 
as you would later in the day. Do not do all 
the work at one time and get tired and dis- 
gusted with labor, but have a job coming. 
NOTE— This is a good agricultural motto — 
Never plant anything that is not worth tak- 
ing care of and keeping alive. 



[5J 



INTRODUCTION 

When we are past our prime or in poor 
health, we look for out of door employment 
and recreation. It is natural that we should 
seek mother earth and her healing medicine, 
air and sunshine, for a cure for our ills. The 
smell of newly-turned earth is fresh and health- 
ful. No class of exercise is so good as work 
with pick and shovel in the open air. 

The love of dirt was one of our earliest pas- 
sions. We began by eating dirt, wading in 
mud puddles, and making mud pies. After we 
have grown up and sown our wild oats we 
think we would like to have a home of our 
own, a flower and vegetable garden. We spend 
our spare time working in the garden and learn 
some of the mysteries of nature. We resolve 
to retire from business some day and give our- 
selves up to our favorite pursuit and enjoy a 
long rest in our old age. 

Is not this better than to be a slave to busi- 
ness and to find no pleasure but in making and 
storing up wealth? 

The writer hopes by giving his knowledge to 
the purchaser at a moderate cost to meet recog- 
nition from those who have a small garden. 
He relies on the generosity and fraternal feel- 
ing of plant lovers to read his book and pass 
on to their friends, a good word in its praise. 

[«] 




Said fhe man to the weed, 
If I do this deed, 
My body must hinge, 
For my back gets a twinge. 



[7] 



Work with the hands is physical; work with the 

brain divine. 
As we are animals in the likeness of God, 
We should labor with our hands and mind. 



IMPLEMENTS 

It is necessary to enumerate a few tools for 
use in the garden : 

The vineyard-hoe deserves first place as it is 
used for digging, hoeing, weeding, mulching, 
planting and tamping the ground after plant- 
ing. It is a strong durable hoe the points of 
which should be kept sharp. 

Garden-hoe. 

Garden-rake. 

Long handled spading fork. 

One twelve quart watering pot for garden. 

One four quart watering pot for hot-bed. 

One garden wheelbarrow. 

One trowel. 

Fifty feet ^-inch garden hose. 

One hundred feet of strong twine. 



[8] 



"Give me the secret of the sun, 
Thereby the world is ever run." 



HOT-BEDS 

For a small garden you can make a double 
bed, cover one-half with a glass sash the other 
with an open lath frame. Size of hot-bed 3x6 
feet. 

Use the bed covered with glass to start the 
seed and the frame to make them hardy, before 
planting out in the garden. Sow the seed in 
small shallow boxes and place on the ground 
under the glass in hot-bed. You will find 
cherry or currant boxes the rig*ht size. This 
method is more convenient for moving the 
plants from the hot-bed to garden than plant- 
ing the seeds in the ground in the hot-bed. 
Use leaf mould, sand and a little well-rotted 
manure in your seed boxes. If you put the 
soil thus prepared in a hot oven it will kill 
the weed germs, worms and life of any kind 
and you will not be troubled with weeds grow- 
ing up with your seed. 



[9] 



"Seed time and harvest." 



SEED 

Seeds will keep for years. Seeds found in 
Egyptian tombs thousands of years old have 
germinated and grown. Seed in the ground 
germinates when exposed to the air and may 
have been in the ground for years. 

Seed will keep for five or ten years, but 
nurserymen do not keep it for more than one 
year. The average time for seed to germinate 
and show above the ground is six days. 

Seeds sown in the fall must be watered to 
start germination. If the ground is level sow 
the seed in a bed and make a trench on the side 
to irrigate the bed by sub-irrigation and not on 
top as the sun will bake and crack the soil if 
irrigated on the surface. Cover the trench after 
the water has disappeared. 

Never plant the same kind of plant in suc- 
cession in the same part of the garden. Alter- 
nate planting. If you have planted potatoes or 
any root vegetable in a certain bed, next year 
plant tomatoes or some plant having top roots. 
This method of planting will keep your soil from 
deteriorating. 



[10] 



"A true repose of the soil is a change of its products.' 



SEED 

Seeds germinate more quickly if soaked in 
warm water over night. This is true of all 
seeds having a hard shell as corn, peas, egg- 
plant, etc. Sow seed in shallow trenches in 
heavy soil and in deeper trenches in light soil. 
Cover small seeds with light covering of soil. 

Large seeds can be planted three or four 
inches deep. Always press the soil down over 
the seed after planting. Small seeds like let- 
tuce should be sown broadcast in bed and the 
rake used to press the soil down over the seeds 
after planting. It is best to keep seeds in paper 
packages, as paper absorbs the moisture. 



[11] 



'They shall all grow in fields of light, 
Transplanted by my care." 



DIRECTIONS FOR PLANTING AND 
PREPARATION OF SOIL 

Nothing is gained by sowing the seed too 
early in the season. There is a time for pre- 
paring the soil, making it ready to receive the 
seed. If the weather will permit, you may 
commence to prepare the ground for sowing 
in March. If March is stormy, wait until April 
or even May 1st. 

Plow or spade under all weeds and manure 
as deep as you can. Then harrow or rake the 
ground as fine as possible. You must do this 
after the earth has dried. Do not attempt to 
work wet ground, for if the soil is clay or adobe 
it will turn up in lumps and bake hard. Divide 
the garden into beds and sow seed at your con- 
venience. The soil should be warm and mel- 
low. Seed in wet ground will germinate, but 
the roots will either curl up instead of striking 
down or the germ will rot. 

You should study the fertility of the soil in 
your garden and the kind of vegetables that 
will do best in certain locations, as the soil 
often differs in even a small garden, and you 
should make the most of what you have. 

[12] 



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"More studious to divide than unite." 



ARTICHOKES 

Native of Southern Europe and Africa. 

They are propagated from seed or partitions 
of the old roots. Be sure that the root has one 
or more eyes. Plants started from roots will 
bear sooner than those grown from seed. 

In January prepare the ground by spading 
and loosening the soil and plant each root about 
six inches deep and three feet apart. Then 
water to settle the earth around the root. The 
buds and not the flowers are the edible part 
and should be cut before the bud opens. The 
French eat the whole of the very young buds, 
but the English prefer the more mature buds 
and eat only the base of the leaves and bottom 
of the bud, freed from the seed-down. The 
leaves of the plant are good fodder for stock. 

The artichoke will grow in almost any loca- 
tion and make a good hedge. The bud will 
grow larger if you tie a ligature of string 
tightly around the stem about three inches be- 
low the bud. 

The dainty oddness of the taste 
Repays one for the seeming waste, 
It can be served in many ways, 
With hot drawn butter or mayonnaise. 

[16] 



What an odd shoot? 

Before potatoes, the ancients used the root. 



JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE 

Plant the same as Artichoke. The tuber of 
the root is used for food, cooked like the po- 
tato, boiled or mashed, with butter added. 

Care should be taken to gather all the roots 
and not allow any to remain in the ground, as 
the small roots will grow and produce inferior 
plants. 



CARDOONS 

Native of Canada. 

The Cardoon Artichoke is planted and 
grown like artichokes. The stem of the leaves 
is the edible part after being blanched, and is 
used in salad, soup, or stew. The leaves may 
be kept a long time, if covered with sand and 
stored in a cool place. 



[17] 



To what extremes we go, alas! 

When we eat the head of succulent grass, 

And hold in our fingers the slippery mass. 



ASPARAGUS 

Native of Persia. 

Asparagus can be raised from seed or 
planted from year old roots, thus saving a 
year in waiting for the roots to mature. It 
bears lightly the second year and a good crop 
the third and fourth years. After that, with 
care, a bed should last twenty to thirty years. 

Prepare the bed by mixing manure with the 
soil and adding sand if the soil is heavy. Spade 
in the manure and level the surface of the bed 
with a rake. 

Plant the seed in rows about an inch deep, 
one foot apart. Press the soil down over the 
seed with the back of the rake. Thin out the 
young shoots to one every six inches, weed 
the bed and keep the soil mulched. Sow the 
seed in March or April. 

When the roots are one year old transplant 
them to the bed prepared to receive them. In 
preparing the bed for one-year-old roots you 
must first have a bed that has a natural drain- 
age or you must arrange for artificial drainage. 
Suppose your bed has clay subsoil; dig out 

[18] 



the soil and put rock, brick or other coarse 
material at the bottom, then fill in with sandy 
loam and spread manure about four inches 
deep and mix by spading. 

The ground must not be wet, but have good 
drainage or the roots will rot and die. Plant the 
young grass roots about eight inches deep and two 
feet apart in rows, making about four parallel 
rows to a bed. Be sure and spread the roots out 
well in the bottom of the hole when planting 
and plant in an upright position — not spread 
out flat. When the young grass heads appear, 
allow them to grow about three inches above 
the ground. 

To harvest them take a sharp knife with a 
long blade, run it down about four inches un- 
der the ground and cut off the shoot with a 
slanting cut. Care must be taken not to cut 
or wound other young shoots, which are not 
in sight. After cutting two or three crops of 
young shoots, allow two or three shoots from 
each crown of roots to grow to maturity. This 
treatment will keep the roots alive and strong 
for next season. 

After the seed stalks are old cut them down 
even with the ground and clear the bed. Cover 
the bed with three or four inches of manure 
and spade in but be careful not to go deep 
enough to disturb the crown roots. 

[19] 



Hen manure mixed with gypsum and sand 
is the best fertilizer, but well rotted barn-yard 
manure will do. No fertilizer should be sup- 
plied in the spring, but lime and common salt 
should be spaded in with the weeds and the 
bed mulched often and kept free from weeds. 



[20] 



"Corn and beans, these be twin brothers." 



BEANS 

Native of North and South America 
and Palestine. 

Beans are of two general kinds, pole and 
bush beans. The bush and the pole beans 
are both planted in the garden for the young 
string beans. The pole beans are larger in 
size and more productive. The habit of the 
pole bean to climb makes it necessary to fur- 
nish some support for the long tendrils that 
start from the top of the young plant. Long 
poles are driven into the ground on the inside 
of the rows near the vines, tied together with 
string or rope. The tendrils take hold and 
twine around the poles as soon as they com- 
mence to flower. 

The seed pods are found on both the bush 
and the tendrils. 

Plant corn between rows to support the 
runners. 

Pick the pods when young and tender. 

Water frequently, mulch the ground and 
keep free from weeds. 

The lazy-wife pole bean has long green 
pods and is a favorite with the ladies, notwith- 

[21] 



standing its name. The pods are easily broken 
into pieces and have no strings to the back. 
Cut the bean pod lengthwise and then cut into 
pieces about an inch long, for cooking. 

Before planting it is advisable to mix the 
seed of two of the same habit, so the pollen 
of the flowers will mix and make stronger and 
larger seed pods. 



[22] 



This bean so shy, 
Under sunny sky. 
Loves the salt air, 
Cool nights and fair. 



LIMA BEANS 

Native of South America. 

There are both bush and pole limas. The 
pole beans produce the larger seed and are 
more commonly grown. The pole limas are 
allowed to trail on the ground and the run- 
ners are cut off as fast as they appear. The 
young bean is used after removing the seed 
from the pod. The dried beans are stored for 
winter use. The flavor is rich, nutty and 
sweet, green or dried. They grow best in Ven- 
tura and San Luis Obispo counties, near the 
coast. 

Plant the seed when the ground is dry and 
warm. Dig the trench about three inches 
deep and drop your bean, with eye down, as 
it is difficult for such a large flat bean to turn 
over in the ground and come right side up. 
Cover and tamp the ground over the seed. 

Thin the plants to one every six inches. 



[23] 



Beans for the horse, beans for the cow, 
Horse beans for the Portugese, he knows how. 
'Tis the bean for the man who follows the plow. 



HORSE BEANS 

Native of England. 

Horse beans are planted in rows about three 
feet apart. Drop a seed every foot and about 
four inches deep. They grow into a tall bush 
about three feet high. 

Cattle are fattened on the dry beans, ground 
up or broken, and are fond of the green pods 
and beans, but refuse to eat the plant or leaves. 
The beans are used for food by Italians, Por- 
tugese and Germans. The young beans should 
be soaked in hot water and the skins removed 
before boiling. 

The beans are roasted and ground and 
mixed with coffee to adulterate it, by dishon- 
est dealers. 



[24] 



This succulent root, served hot or cold, 
Notching can beat it for young or old. 



BEETS 

The beet was first found in the wild state 
in Egypt and along the Mediterranean coast. 

Plant seed in rows about one inch deep, 
two feet apart. Thin out to one every six 
inches. Keep the ground loose and free from 
weeds. The tops make good greens, like 
spinach. 



BEETS 

The Mangel Wurtzel beets are raised for 
stock. They grow to immense size. 

Plant in rows about two feet apart and in 
furrows about two inches deep. When plants 
are about two inches high thin out to one 
every eight inches. Plant in the fall and irri- 
gate until rains furnish the desired moisture 
or in the spring about the middle of May. 



[25] 



Oh! vegetable Brussel, Where is your fruit, 
We have looked for sprouts, down at the root, 
They are under the leaves, down on the stem, 
Why need you further look for them. 



BRUSSEL SPROUTS 

Native of Belgium. Known since 1213 
A. D. 

The plant is grown from seed the same 
as cabbage. Plant seed and thin out plants. 
Transplanting the young plants sometimes 
makes it go to seed and not grow sprouts. 

The sprouts appear on the stem of the plant 
when about six months old, if they make their 
appearance at all. 



[26] 



Nestled in its leaves of green, 

The most eatable snow-ball erer sceH. 



CAULIFLOWER 

Native of Cyprus and Mediterranean coast. 

Plant seed in the open garden or hot-bed. 
Transplant the young plants and cultivate 
same as cabbage. Water the young plants 
frequently. Keep ground mulched and heaped 
around the stems. 

The flower or head is the edible part. The 
top should be protected by tying the large 
leaves together. This will keep the head from 
separating and starting out in blossom. It 
is both a summer and winter vegetable, but 
does better in winter. 



[27] 



'I have fed like a farmer, 
I shall grow fat as a porpoise." 



CABBAGE 

Native of Southern Europe and England. 

First found wild with no appearance of a 
head. The seed may be sown in the fall or 
spring for summer or winter consumption. For 
winter transplant the young seedling to gar- 
den about the first of October. For summer 
sow the seed in a box in the hot-bed about 
January first and when two inches high trans- 
plant to the garden about March. When the 
danger from frost has passed, place the young 
plants in left hand between the thumb and 
linger and place in a hole already prepared 
about four inches deep. Place fine soil around 
the roots and cover, adding a cupful of water 
to settle the soil around the roots. When the 
water has disappeared put in more soil ; later 
fill the hole when the plant has grown and 
you are mulching the ground. Water often 
and mulch ground in summer. 



[28] 



The carrot has a fluffy top, 

Eat plenty and you'll have a "mop." 



CARROTS 

Native of the sea coast of Southern 
Europe and England. 

Colors, red, white and yellow. The small 
red carrot, called French carrot, is the favorite 
for the table. The white, red and yellow long 
rooted varieties are used for feeding and fat- 
tening stock. It should be started from seed 
in the early fall as it is a winter vegetable. 
Plant seed in shallow furrows about one inch 
deep and one foot apart. Thin out to one 
plant every three inches. If you have not the 
heart to do this ask the assistance of your 
neighbor. Keep the soil loose around the 
roots. They do best in sandy soil. Heavy soil 
retards their growth, unless it is worked up 
fine and kept loose around the roots. 

Carrots fed to cows give the butter a richer 
color and improves the taste and quality. They 
should be washed and cut up and fed with cut 
hay, bran or meal. 



[29] 



How could we flavor our salad or soup 
If it were not for celery sitalk and root? 



CELERY 

It was first found in the wild state in Eu- 
rope and was rank and poisonous. By cultiva- 
tion it has become crisp, sweet and juicy. It 
is not often planted in the garden as it re- 
quires a deep, rich, well drained, swampy soil. 
When four to six inches high the yOung 
plants are transplanted to trenches for blanch- 
ing, which are about twelve inches deep. The 
plants are repeatedly earthed up until they 
have risen two feet or more above the natural 
surface. 



[30] 



The root is w^hite and round, 
In lettuce salad often found. 



CELERIAC 

Sow in boxes in the hot-bed. When the 
plants are about two inches high transfer to 
the garden. Plant in rows about two feet 
apart and the plants one foot from each other. 
Keep the soil up around the roots, give plenty 
of water and cultivation. When plants are 
growing remove the earth from around the 
roots and cut oflf all lateral roots, leaving only 
the long tap root. 

The root is used for salad, cut up in slices, 
either raw or boiled. It grows best in wet soil 
like the celery. 



[31] 



A beet, but not a "dead beat." 



CHARD 

A native of Switzerland. 

It belongs to the beet family. The root is 
hard and not edible. The leaf alone is used. 
The large mid-rib of the leaf is stripped of 
the soft green leaf and cut up into pieces and 
cooked like cream celery, which it resembles. 
The green part of the leaf makes good greens 
or spinach. It is good stock food for poultry, 
hogs and cattle. 

Plant the seed in open bed and when plants 
are about an inch high transfer to the garden. 
Plant the small beets about two feet apart each 
way. It will grow for two seasons. Break 
off the leaves from the roots as wanted. Be 
careful not to pull up or disturb the plant. 



What would we do for some Dutch dishes 
If we had not Chives to fill our wishes? 



CHIVES 

Native of England and Northern Europe. 

It grows and increases like garlic. The 
leaves are used in salad in place of onions. 

[32] 



"With his soft and shining tresses, 
With his garments green and yellow, 
With his long and glossy plumage, 
Stood and beckoned at the door." 

CORN OR MAIZE 

When the new world was discovered corn 
was found under cultivation by the natives 
from New England to Chili. The Indians gave 
the early settlers corn when they were starv- 
ing and gave them seed and showed them how 
to grow it. There are three distinct varieties. 
The field — red, white, yellow, and variegated 
Dent or Flint corn, the white sweet corn, the 
white and black popcorn. 
Dent Corn. 

The Dent corn is edible if picked while the 
corn is young. After it ripens and hardens it 
is ground into meal and is used for fattening 
animals and poultry. The plant is put into 
silos, where it ferments and is fed to stock. 
Sweet Corn. 

This corn is grown for the young ears 
which are very sweet and wholesome, boiled 
or roasted. Succotash is a mixture of corn 
and lima beans. 

Sweet corn ripens quicker than field corn. 
Corn crosses very easily and different kinds 
should not be planted near each other unless 
you desire to make a cross. Corn grows best 
in the same locality it was grown in before. 

[33] 



Keep the seed and plant your own selected 
seed, taken from the largest and best devel- 
oped ears. The Golden Bantam corn is a new 
variety with short ears, of rich golden color, 
very sweet and nice. 
Popcorn. 
Well, every child knows what that is. It is 
white and black, but after popping both come 
out a creamy white. 

Corn is planted in hills about four inches 
deep and three feet apart and in furrows. The 

seed should be selected from the middle of 
the cob. Do not use the seed of either end, as 
it is small and imperfect. The seed is usually 
planted by a corn planter that drops the seed 
the desired distance apart. If planted by hand 
in the garden, thin out the plants two feet 
apart and when thinnmg break off the two 
side suckers, so the strength will all go into 
the main stalk. When the corn swells and the 
tassel begins to wilt, open the end of the corn 
husk and examine the ears and see if the seed 
has filled out full and round. If so it is ready 
to pick. If not ripe pick out the corn worm 
that you will generally find there and put your 
heel on him. Fold back the leaves of the husk 
and the corn will not be harmed and will keep 
on growing. Hoe the soil up around roots. 
This helps support the roots and prevents the 
wind from blowing the plant over. 

[34] 



"Remember the fish w'hich we did eat in Egypt freely 
The cucumber and the leek, and the onion and the 
garlic." 



CUCUMBER 

Native of Egypt and Southern 
Mediterranean. 

Plant in hills about ten seeds in a hill and 
thin to two plants. Pinch off the ends of run- 
ners and water often and mulch the ground. 
The young fruit is used for pickling and sliced 
up in vinegar. Do not eat cucumbers and 
drink milk; it is fatal. 



COLLARDS 

A species of cabbage grown for leaves. Plant 
and cultivate like cabbage. 



CORN SALAD AND FETTICUS 

Native of England. 

The plant is used as a substitute for let- 
tuce. The greens are cooked like spinach. 
Same culture as lettuce. 

[35] 



Oh, dandy-lion with mane so white. 
The children blow your seed so light. 
Old women use the weed for tea. 
In every garden a pest you be. 



DANDELION 

A domestic variety with large leaves is 
grown in the garden for the leaves which are 
used for salad and greens like spinach. 

It is commonly used as a tonic for the blood. 

Do not let it go to seed. "A word to the 
wise is sufficient." The wild dandelion is a 
pest in our gardens and destroys many a fine 
grass lawn. 



"Herbes that 'have on them cool dews of the nig"ht." 

ENDIVES 

A vegetable grown like lettuce. Sow seed 
in June or July. Thin out plants to six inches 
apart. When grown the outer leaves should 
be brought up around the plant and tied to- 
gether. This whitens or blanches the inner 
leaves and heart. 



[36] 



Oh! vegetable egg, of deep purple hue, 

Best picked in the morning covered with dew. 



EGG PLANT 

Native of South America, India and 
Africa. 

Plant seed in a box under the glass in the 
hot-bed about February first. Soak the seed 
in warm water over night, no matter if the 
water cools off. Cover seed with light cov- 
ering of sand and water once a day. When 
plants are about an inch high transplant them 
into small three-inch pots. After two or three 
weeks plant out in the garden two feet apart 
each way. Cover the young plants for a few 
days if the weather is hot. The open end can 
makes a good cover. Water frequently and 
mulch. They like water and heat, worms and 
bugs like them, so you will have lots of trouble 
raising them. Put wood ashes around plants 
to protect them from worms. The soil must 
be sandy loam and have warm exposure. Ni- 
trate of soda placed around the plant is a good 
tonic and makes them grow faster. A table- 
spoonful of nitrate of soda mixed with sand 
is the right quantity for small plants. 



[37] 



'Let garlic atoms link within the bowl, 
And half suspected animate the whole." 



GARLIC 

Native of Europe. 

Separate the cloves of the bulb and plant one 
clove, about two inches deep and six inches 
apart, in rows. When the plant matures in 
June, pull the plant up and hang bulb, with 
top attached, in dry place to be used as wanted. 



"Oh gently breafhe a tender sigh." 

ROCAMBOLE 

Plant and cultivate same as garlic. Many 
consider it milder and better flavored than 
garlic, but the bulbs are not as large. 



"The biter, bitten." 

HORSE RADISH 

Native of Southern Europe. 

Cultivated in the garden for its roots which 
are used as condiments. Used also as medi- 
cine. It needs a deep sandy soil. Increases 
by planting part of the old root. 

[38] 



"Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed 
that is upon the face of the earth." 



HERBES 

You should plant the following for use in 
seasoning different dishes : Thyme, sage, 
sweet marjoram, parsley and mint. It takes 
parsley seed a long time to germinate. 

"To be, or not to be? 
That is the question." 

KOHL RABI 

Plant and cultivate like cabbage. It should 
be transplanted very young when about an 
inch high. The root or bulb is the edible part 
and grows above the ground. It is used as a 
substitute for turnip and for salad. 



"Come ! give us a taste of your qualities." 

KALE 

Sow seed and cultivate like cabbage. It 
does better in winter. Seed should be sown 
in September and young plants placed in gar- 
den when about two inches high. It is grown 
for the leaves, which are broken off and fed 
to poultry and stock. 

[39] 



"No feast complete was ever seen, 
Without fresh lettuce crisp and green." 

LETTUCE 

Native of Asia and Africa. 

It has been cultivated in England for more 
than two hundred years. It has been known 
from early Biblical times. 

In the spring prepare a bed in a sheltered 
spot by digging and raking the soil up fine. 
Sow the seed broadcast and cover lightly with 
the rake. Sprinkle bed with water to settle 
the soil around the seed and to start germina- 
tion. If weather is warm cover the bed with 
some light litter. When plants are well grown, 
say an inch across, take a pointed stick or fork 
and loosen the roots before pulling them out 
of the bed. It is important to take up plants 
with full roots. If root is broken the plant 
may live but will never do as well as the one 
with large full roots. Plant in rows about 
sixteen inches apart each way. Water the 
young plant just set out and mulch. 

The lettuce is very hardy and can be planted 
every month in the year. Lettuce planted in 
summer should be thinned, not transplanted, 
as the transplanted lettuce will rapidly go to 
seed and not head up. Water often and mulch 
ground. The variety called Los Angeles is 
the best. 

[40] 



It looks so green and like the grass, 
It might be pulled for a weed, alas! 



LEEK 

Native of Switzerland. 

Sow the seed in January or February in 
rows about one inch deep and one foot apart. 
Thin out plants to one every three inches. 
Water and mulch often during warm weather. 
It should be gathered when the root has devel- 
oped. It seeds the second season like onions. 



LENTILS 

"The pottage of Esau," the Edom or red 
pottage was prepared by seething lentils in 
water and adding a little (mantua) or suet for 
flavoring. 

Plant in rows about an inch deep and two 
feet apart. Thin out plants to one every three 
inches. It grows about ten inches high and 
needs no support. It resembles the pea, in 
leaf, flower and seed pod, but the seeds are 
small, flat and round. 



[41] 



"Give us the luxuries of life and we will dispense 
with the necessities." 



MELONS 

Native of Guinea, India, Persia and 
Asia. 

Under the heading melons, we will describe 
watermelon, muskmelon, nutmeg melon, citron 
melon, casaba melon and cantaloupe. 

Watermeloru 

Watermelons are a native of Africa. They 
do best in sandy soil and in a hot climate. 
Sow the seed in hills, about six feet apart each 
way. Thin out leaving one or two plants to a 
hill, water often and mulch. Stop watering 
when fruit is as large as a hen's egg. This 
applies to all melons. Cut oflf ends of runners 
to make plant more compact. 

Muskmelon. 

Muskmelon, so named from the musky odor 
and flavor. Sow seed in hills, place a dozen 
seeds in a hill. Thin out to one or two plants. 
Better let three grow until they are a month 
old so you will have one or two to spare if 
the cut worm destroys any. You cannot trans- 
plant the young melon successfully unless you 
take up lots of earth with the young plant. 

[42] 



Nutmeg Melons. 

Nutmeg melons are a small, early variety, 
fine for the breakfast table. Cultivate same as 
muskmelon. 

Cantaloupe. 

Cantaloupe is a large oblong yellow melon of 
good flavor when not too ripe. It is a general 
favorite. Cultivate same as muskmelons. 

The network or lines on the skin of the 
melon is caused by the heat cracking the skin. 
You can scratch a name on a melon or squash 
and have it come out in raised letters. 

Casaba Melon. 

Also called the Christmas melon, from the 
fact it will keep until after Christmas. It will 
keep better than any melon known. Plant the 
seed in light, sandy soil, as described before, 
when danger from frost has passed. 

The melon is light olive green wth slight 
creases or ribs. The flesh is white, thick and 
juicy. The flavor is deliciously sweet. When 
ripe it can be eaten vv^ithin a quarter of an inch 
of the rind. The melons are about ten inches 
long and oval in shape. When the rind be- 
comes soft and moist the melon is ripe. Do 
not gather the melon until the light streaks 
turn yellow. Stow away in a cool place and 
do not let them touch each other. 

[43] 



Citron Melons. 

Citron melons are both round and oblong 
and closely resemble the watermelon in shape 
and color. Boys often tap them to see if they 
are ripe or carry them of¥ and find too late 
that they have had their trouble for nothing. 
They are good cut up for pickles, but not 
edible. In all melons the male flower blooms 
before the female. They are small at the base 
while the female flower has the shape of a 
melon three-quarters of an inch long and three- 
eighths inch in diameter. The male flowers are 
in the center of the plant while the female 
flowers are on the runners. 



[44] 



"Will make even heirs and widows weep." 



ONIONS 

Native of Persia, Afghanistan and 
Egypt. 

It belongs to the lily family. The Weathers- 
field Red, Yellow Danvers and Silverskin are 
those usually planted. The red onion is the 
most common, the Silverskin the daintiest. 
The Silverskin is a native of Egypt. It is a 
small white onion of a mild, delicious flavor. 

Onions are a summer and winter vegetable. 
For winter use plant the sets in September or 
October. For summer use plant sets January 
to May. 

Onions can be planted in the same ground 
year after year, if ground is heavily manured. 
The onion has two periods of growth, first 
from the seed to sets, second from sets to ma- 
ture onions. The seed is planted in rows about 
half an inch deep and a foot apart. Cover seed 
over lightly, using the rake, and press the soil 
down with the back. 

The first growth of young onion sets will 
mature in a few months and the young onions 
should be pulled and dried in the sun, until 

[45] 



the tops are dried off. The sets can then be 

planted in rows about a foot and a half apart, 

six inches separating them. Take a sharp stick 

or dipple and make a hole in the ground near 

the line which you have set to make straight 

rows. Place a set in each hole and let the top 

of set be even with the surface of the ground. 

Press the soil around the set. You will need 

an ''iron back with a hinge" if you plant a 

large bed. Sets will grow into mature onions 

in about eight months. The bulbs will show 

above the ground, but they do not like to be 

confined, so let them have their own way. 

When the seed head starts, cut off the head as 

the bulb needs all the sap. When the tops are 

large and drying up bend the stalk over on 

the ground. This will ripen the onion and 

help it to mature. If the onion is allowed to 

seed it will spoil it for food, as the bulb will 
not grow round and full, but long and pithy 

and of no use. 

Chicken manure mixed with sand and gyp- 
sum is the best manure for onions. 

If you want to raise your own seed secure 
large dried onions, plant them with tops even 
with the ground. They will grow one or more 
seed heads, but the onions will be ruined for life. 

Keep onions in a dry cellar and cut off the 
tops. If they sprout new tops keep them cut 

[46] 



off and remove the bad ones from the others. 
Onions are one of our healthiest vegetables, 
either cooked or eaten raw. 

The onion is carried to sea by sailors to keep 
off the scurvy. 



POTATO ONION 

Do not laug*h. 

This onion is very prolific, increasing by 
bulbs which it throws out underground. Each 
bulb l^as a top and six or more may be joined 
together at the root, like the potato, hence 
the name. 

It is planted from seed and sets like the true 
onion. It is not large but is useful when the 
other kmds do not keep well. 



[47] 



Okra and gumbo, for soup a la mode. 



OKRA OR GUMBO 

Sow the seed in hills about April first. The 
fruit or pods should be gathered when young 
and tender. They are used in soup. 



"Dumb as an oyster." 



OYSTER PLANT OR SALSIFY 

The seed is planted in rows about an inch 
deep. Cultivate like carrots. 



"Held in much esteem by the Romans, who boiled 
them and ate them with honey." 



PARSNIPS 

Sow seed and cultivate like carrots. It is a 
good table vegetable and also used for stock 
food. It is rich in saccharine matter and adds 
to the richness of cows' milk, if freshly dug 
and fed freely. 

[48] 



Peppers red and peppers yellow, 
Good for the liver of every fellow. 



PEPPERS 

Native of Brazil. 

Sow seed in a box and place in the hot- 
bed. Transfer plants to garden when about 
two inches high. Plant like tomatoes. 

The Bull-nose or Bell-pepper is used green 
for salad or stufifed peppers. The long red va- 
riety is ground fine and made into cayenne 
pepper. The small red are used in pickles. 
When seed pods are ripe cut them off, string 
and hang them in cellar. 



[49] 



"With potatoes g-alore, and strong beer at one end, 
In one corner yourself, the other your friend." 



POTATOES 

Native of Peru and South America. 

Potatoes were carried to England by Sir 
Walter Raleigh from Virginia in 1586 but did 
not come into general use for a hundred years 
after. The Spaniards brought them into Eu- 
rope about 1559 A. D. The tubers consist 
mainly of a mass of cells filled with starch en- 
closed in a thin, corky rind. They are three- 
fourths water. It reaches its highest perfec- 
tion in sandy soil. Salinas valley produces the 
finest potatoes in California. They grow in 
great abundance on the river bottoms of the 
Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. 

One kind is known as the Salinas Burbank 
and the other as the River Burbank. The 
Burbank potato was an accidental cross, and 
found in the seed ball of an Early Rose plant 
in the year 1871 by Luther Burbank when he 
lived in Massachusetts. He planted the seed 
and obtained 26 varieties, of which the "Bur- 
bank" proved the best. The other seedlings 
were allowed to die or were destroyed. The 
year 1873 was a boom year in potatoes in Eng- 

[50] 



land. Some new varieties sold as high as $500 
for a single potato, to be used for seed. 

You must plant the seed that grows on the 
plant to produce new varieties ; trusting to ac- 
cidental pollenization or by design. 

The Early Rose is planted in December for 
early spring potatoes. Potatoes can be planted 
about March first when the danger of frost 
is over. Plant large potatoes, cut into sec- 
tions, each having two or more eyes. Or small 
refuse potatoes, about as large as a small hens' 
egg, with the ends cut off to prevent too many 
eyes starting. The large whole potato makes 
the best seed. Before planting cover the pieces 
with wood ashes or slack lime, it will prevent 
seed from rotting and keep off insects and 
worms. Let the seed potatoes lie in the sun 
and dry before planting, it prevents rot. If 
planted by use of plow prepare the ground by 
deep plowing and harrowing. Plow a furrow 
about four inches deep and drop the seed every 
foot or so and cover. If planted by hand, place 
the seed in hills about four inches deep, one 
or two pieces of potato to a hill. When plants 
appear above the ground hoe or cultivate the 
ground around the small plants. Cultivate 
often, bring the soil up around the plant to 
cover the small potatoes that grow near the 
surface. The surface potatoes if exposed to 

[51] 



the air turn green and are not edible, but poi- 
sonous. Early or new potatoes may be dug 
and separated from the vine without killing 
the plant or retarding its growth. Take off 
two or three of the largest and cover up the 
hole. 

The crop of old potatoes, as the ripe tubers 
are called, are gathered after the tops die 
down, by digging or plowing up the hills. They 
may be left in the ground for several weeks 
and dug as wanted. Dig them all before first 
rain. Let the potatoes lie in the sun for a few 
hours to dry before gathering. 

More pounds of potatoes are produced than 
any other food crop in the world. 

Potato Scab. 

Is much in evidence in potato crops each 
year. To keep it under control the seed should 
first be dipped in some disinfecting solution. 
Two kinds are used, the formaldehyde and 
corrosive sublimate solution. The formalde- 
hyde is prepared by pouring a pint of formal- 
dehyde into 30 gallons of water. Dip the po- 
tato seed in this for two hours, covering the 
barrel. Potatoes must be planted soon after 
dipping or spread out in the sun to dry. 



[52] 



We have Irish tubers and sweet, 
With river and valley Burbank, 
And raise more things to eat, 
Than any state of our rank. 



SWEET POTATOES 

Native of China and America. 

The tubers are an enlarged growth of its 
underground stems. Its aerial stems are creep- 
ers and leaf and flower resemble those of the 
morning glory. It has been cultivated as a 
vegetable from time immemorial and was found 
among the Indians when this country was 
first discovered. It is believed to have been 
an important crop of the ancient Chinese. Its 
habit proves clearly that it is tropical in origin 
though it has been acclimatized far to the 
north. 

It is found in three varieties, Southern 
Queen, Yam and Nausemond. The sweet po- 
tato is similar to the Irish potato, but contains 
more sugar. In starch and ash content they 
are about the same. It does best in a warm 
sandy loam with chemical fertilizer rich in pot- 
ash for manuring and enriching the soil. 

After spading in the manure throw up a 
ridge two feet wide with a trench on either 
side. Plant the sprouts on the side of the ridge 

[53] 



and water the vine by pouring water in the 
trenches. Start the sprouts from old sweet 
potatoes, cut in half lengthwise, and place 
tubers in sand with the eyes uppermost, using 
fresh horse manure for bottom heat. 

Start in the hot-bed if early in the season. 

When the sprouts are from two to four 
inches long and have shown signs of rooting 
break them off from the tuber and more will 
sprout until the parent is exhausted. It will 
take a month for young sprouts to start. The 
young shoots may be dipped in a solution of 
manure, soil and water before planting. The 
vine will send out joint roots. These must be 
cut off to prevent a greater growth of the vine 
at the expense of the growing tubers. The 
potatoes can be kept in a dry place for two 
or three months. 



[54] 



"Lamb, mint sauce and peas. 
Fit for kings." 



PEAS 



Native of Persia and India. 
Our garden pea was cultivated by tlie an- 
cient Greeks and Romans. Peas may be sown 
for spnng and summer use. For spring peas 
plant m January and tliey will ripen in May 
boak the seed in water over night. Plant in 
rows about four inches deep and three feet 
apart. It is not necessary to furnish support 
for the vines, but short pieces of brush placed 
between the rows make a good support, if you 
wish to go to that trouble. The best soil is 
a strong clayey loam with abundant vegetable 
manure. Prepare the soil by deep plowing or 
spading and mulch often. 



[SS] 



Garvanza pea, a hermit, I see; 
Shut up in his cell, 
Of w'hat use can you be. 
Can any one tell? 



GARVANZA PEA 

Native of Mexico. 

Plant the seed in rows about two inches 
deep and two feet apart. The plant is hardy 
and of upright habit and needs no support. It 
bears but one pea to a pod and it is very slow 
work shelling them. The dried pea is very 
hard and is used for food for fattening pigeons 
and poultry. 

"Just as like as two peas in a pod." 

NILE PEA 

Native of Egypt. 

In habit and growth it resembles the Gar- 
vanza Pea, but it goes it one better, it has 
two peas to the pod. Pick the peas young and 
they are very sweet and hold their dark green 
color when cooked. The dry pea is used in 
soup. The plant is very hardy and can be 
planted late in the season and does not require 
much water or cultivation. It will grow in 
almost any soil. 

[56] 



"The first born infant of the Spring." 

RADISH 

Native of Southern Asia. 
Sow the seed from January to May in shal- 
low trenches about half an inch deep. Cover 
over with soil and press the ground down over 
the seed. When about two inches high thin 
out to one every three inches. It grows best 
in sandy soil. Color of root may be red, white 
or red and white mixed. 

"Oh! green and glorious herbaceous treat. 
It would tempt the dying Anchorite to eat." 

RHUBARB OR PIE PLANT 

Native of Siberia. 

Introduced into England as early as 1575. 
The Chinese used it as a drug 2700 B. C. 

It may be planted in fall or spring, using 
plants raised from seed or dividing the old 
roots. The ground should be deep and rich 
and well manured as it is a rank feeder. The 
crown of the root should be placed about two 
inches below the surface. The plant will grow 
leaves large enough to use a year after plant- 
ing. In gathering the leaves the leaf stalk 
should be bent down and pulled off sideways, 
and not cut off, leaving no surface to decay. It 
is used as a vegetable and for drugs. 

[57] 



"The feast smells well." 



SHALLOTS 

Native of Palestine. 

Like the garlic in habit, increasing from 
separation of the bulb. When the tops begin 
to wither pull up the plant with bulb attached, 
tie tops together in bunches, and hang up in 
a dry place. It is used for seasoning soup and 
gravy. 



"How green you are and fresh." 

SPINACH 

Native of Persia. 

It was not known to the Ancients. It was 
a novelty in Europe in the 16th century. 

Spinach is of Eastern origin. 

Sow in shallow furrows two feet apart. Thin 
out to one every six inches. Water often, 
mulch and keep free from weeds. Irrigate in 
open trenches along the side of the rows and 
cover, after water disappears. Like lettuce, it 
can be planted any month of the year. 



[58] 



"Oh! for the pies that mother made." 

SQUASH AND PUMPKINS 

Native of North America. 

Plant seed in hills about six feet apart eacV 
way. Place about four seeds in a hill in th^t 
form of a square six inches apart. Thin om 
to one or two plants. Plant in May when the 
soil is warm. Nothing is gained by planting 
earlier because the seed, if it germinates, will 
not make a strong root, but will curl up and 
die. 

Of the small variety of squash you can leave 
two plants to a hill, but the large squash, like 
the Hubbard, you should leave but one, if you 
wish to grow large squash. 

When the fruit has formed cut off the end 
of the vine to throw the strength into the de- 
velopment of the fruit. The vine has male 
and female flowers. Twice as many male 
flowers, which soon wilt and die. Bees and 
insects carry the pollen from flower to flower 
making strange mixtures in the family. 

Do not plant different kinds of squash to- 
gether if you want them to come true. Squash 
will keep for months in a dry room or cellar. 
Great care should be taken in handling squash 

[59] 



that are to be kept through the winter. Do 
not break off the short stem, or handle of the 
squash, or bruise them in moving them from 
field to store house. 

You can irrigate the young plants for a few 
weeks if the weather is hot and the soil dry 
and hard. 

The Summer Squash. 

Look out for squash bugs and small yellow 
striped beetles and destroy them. The favorite 
squash is the Hubbard. It is a large dark green 
warty skin squash, but the meat is mealy and 
delicious. It makes good pies and is best 
baked or boiled. The summer squash are of 
two varieties, red and white. Pick the young 
squash, as they are very hard, when left to 
ripen on the vines. 

English Marrow Squash. 

The English Marrow is a long white squash 
a foot or more in length. They are very fine 
boiled or cut and fried in batter, as you cook 
tgg plant. Pick the young squash as the old 
squash are hard and useless. 

The New England Pie Pumpkins. 

The New England pie pumpkins are the ones 
our mother used for making pies. They are 
about ten inches in diameter, hard skin and 
of a reddish color. They are used when ripe, 
and are often cut up and dried for future use. 

[60] 



"Colored with crimson, mellow, rich and ripe." 



TOMATOES 

Native of Peru and South America. 
Less than a century ago it was almost un- 
known in northern gardens. It was cultivated 
as a novelty and called "Love Apples." 

"Never, the little seed stops in its growing. 
More and more richly the rose heart keeps glowing, 
Till frorn its nourishing stem it has riven, 
The delicious love apple, for which it has striven.*' 

Sow the seed in boxes and place in the hot- 
bed in January. Prepare the soil in boxes by 
mixing leaf mold and sand with a little well 
rotted cow manure. Sow the seed broadcast 
and work the seed into the soil with the fingers 
and cover lightly, pressing the sand down 
gently to settle it around the seed. Water 
lightly every day and do not let the ground 
dry out. When the plants are an inch high 
thin out those in the box or transplant them 
to another box placing the plants three inches 
apart and remove the box to the cold frame 
in the day time if the weather is pleasant. Put 
under the glass at night to protect them from 

[61] 



the frost or cover the cold frame. The plants 
should be three or four inches high, dark green 
in color and strong and hardy when ready to 
transplant to the garden. If they are sickly 
and yellow you have given them too much 
heat and not enough water. Do not trans- 
plant them to the garden until after danger 
from frost has passed, about the first of May. 
Place your line marking out your squares 
about four feet apart and dig a hole four inches 
deep with your vineyard hoe at each corner of 
the square. This will place your vines four 
feet apart each way and give plenty of room 
for the vine to spread. Remember that straight 
rows look better than crooked and haphazard 
ones. Take the young plants out of the box 
with a sharp stick, loosen the earth around the 
roots and be sure to secure a plant with full 
unbroken roots. Examine the leaves, root and 
head, and if weak or imperfect discard it. Use 
only perfect specimens as the future plant will 
never do well unless started right. Place the 
young plant in the hole, spread out the roots 
and cover them with a little fine soil. Then 
pour on about a cupful of water to settle the 
earth around the roots and to supply moisture 
for the new roots Which must start before the 
plant grows in its new location. After the 
moisture disappears cover the plant with earth 

[62] 



half the distance from leaves to root. The hole 
can be filled up later when the plant is larger 
and you are working the soil loose around the 
plant. This method of planting gives the root 
a deep setting and less moisture is required. 
Do not water the plant unless the weather is 
very warm and no rain has fallen. If you con- 
tinue to water the vine you will have a large 
rank growth and small fruit. If the weather 
is hot protect the young vines with a shingle 
placed in the ground to the south, to protect 
from the rays of the sun. Or cover with an 
open end tin can for a few days. The can is 
better as it protects the plant from the cut 
worm. This worm works at night. See chap- 
ter on Pests. 

Do not plant all your stock, reserve about 
a third as many as you have planted for re- 
planting those that die or are destroyed. When 
the plants are eight inches high pinch off 
the top of the vine. This will make the plant 
short and stocky and throw more strength into 
vine and fruit buds just forming. You can tie 
them up to a stake or a trellis, but the vines 
will bend down and break from their own 
weight. It is just as well to let them spread 
out over the ground and when the fruit rip- 
ens place the fruit on top of the vine to keep 
it off the ground. Pick the tomatoes as they 

[63] 



ripen as they soon rot if left on the vines. The 
vines will have a good many white and green 
unripe tomatoes on them in the fall. These 
can be made to ripen if you pull the vine up 
with fruit attached and hang it in a dry, warm 
place. The fruit will ripen sooner if tied up 
in a small paper bag. The large smooth round 
tomato is the best for canning and market use. 
The Ponderoso is a large pink variety. The 
cross of the pink and the red are desirable for 
their size and flavor. Cross the two varieties 
by planting them close together. The early 
red tomato is smaller than those ripening later, 
but they come in two weeks earlier. The large 
yellow tomato is very showy when dished with 
the red in salad. It is not as good flavor as 
the red and never will be as popular. There 
are small red and yellow tomatoes. These are 
used for pickles. 

The tin can can be used for planting the 
young tomato plants taken from the box in 
the hot-bed and grown in the can until from 
four to six inches high. Transplant from tin 
can to open ground about May first. 

Tin Cans. 

Take a large tomato can and unsolder the 
ends and side, leaving a bent piece of tin. Tie 
the can with a piece of string to hold it to- 

[64] 



gether and place it upon end on a board, then 
fill with earth and plant the young tomatoes. 
When you transplant them to open ground 
cut the string, open the side of the can and 
you will have a ball of earth covering and pro- 
tecting the roots of the plant. 



[65] 



'Much may be said on both sides." 



TURNIPS 

Native of Armenia, Russia and Scandinavia. 

Plant seed in rows an inch deep and a foot 
and a half apart. If the weather is showery 
at the time of sowing the seed it will germi- 
nate quickly. Thin plants, the young plants, 
should be kept growing with frequent water- 
ing. It is a general favorite as a vegetable. 
It is good for stock but the amount of nutri- 
tious matter is small. 



[66] 



Everything that flowers in beauty, in the air of 
u^^^^\ ^^^^^ '^^^ fairness, its vigor, from its roots 
iNo^ung living can blossom into fruitage unless 
through nourishing stalks, deep-planted in th 
mon soil." 



s. 
le 
e com- 



ROOTS 

The roots are the vital part of the plant. 
When the ground is moist the plant throws 
out fine white thread-like roots, which are 
the feeders. These small roots take in nour- 
ishment from the soil and the sap distributes 
it throughout the plant to the uttermost branch 
and leaf, going up through the inner bark and 
down through the outer bark to the roots. 

The plant breathes through the leaves. The 
dark green matter in the leaves is necessary 
for the formation of starch without which the 
leaves turn yellow and wither and the plant 
dies. When the plant is dry and suffering for 
want of moisture these small roots dry up and 
become hard. Supplied with moisture a new 
crop of small roots will start out to take up 
water and food. It is essential that vegetables 
shall be furnished with an abundance of water 
and not allowed to dry up or wilt and have 
any set back if you would grow large and suc- 
culent fruit. 



[67] 



Let us first irrigate, 
Then let us investigate, 
Why plants luxuriate 
With water and muriate. 



IRRIGATION 

Vegetables require to be watered often and 
must never be neglected and allowd to dry up 
or wither. If you plant in summer and the 
ground is level make a trench on the side and 
irrigate bed from below, letting the water per- 
colate through, the soil. This method keeps 
the soil loose on top and prevents its baking 
and cracking by the sun. If your soil is sandy 
you will not have this trouble and can irrigate 
bed on top by sprinkling with water. 

Lettuce, celery, radishes and plants that are 
about 90 degrees water do well in summer by 
this treatment, keeping the ground thoroughly 
wet, without waste of water and everything 
is watered evenly. Water should be used once 
or twice a week. Do not water too often. Let 
the roots absorb the salts after the water has 
done its work and do not drown the plant by 
too much water and kill it with kindness. 

The French peasant grows vegetables in his 
little garden and often secures four or five 
crops a season. He secures this result by sub- 

[68] 



irrigation, by the use of perforated four inch 
tiling, which is buried in the ground about 
two feet deep and seven feet apart in straight 
rows. A piece of sewer pipe with an elbow is 
placed at the end of the tiling with opening 
just above the ground in which to pour the 
water, or place the hose to fill the tiling with 
water. When the tiling is full of water it will 
spread out for three and a half feet on each side, 
irrigating a space seven feet wide. 

Straw can be put over the tiling before fill- 
ing in the trench. ■ This will prevent the holes 
in the tiling from getting stopped up with par- 
ticles of earth. Lay the tile in the trench on 
a dead level. The French plant their seed in 
rows immediately over the tiling, but it may 
do as vv^ell to plant between the tiling. 



[69] 



Not a nice subject to be sure. 

But plants thrive better with manure. 



MANURES 

Practically all organic manures contain ni- 
trogen. Green weeds turned under the ground 
form humus and humus is a storehouse for 
nitrogen. Nitrogen is furnished in the most 
available form, in nitrate of soda. Nitrates are 
formed more rapidly in warm weather. Nitrate 
is formed by the action of microscopic organ- 
isms. All fertilizers must undergo this process 
of nitration before they are turned into plant 
food. 

Leguminous crops, such as field peas, 
vetches, burr clover, etc., when turned under 
the ground and allowed to rot, supply the soil 
with nitrogen in addition to humus. The leg- 
umes have the power to collect and store nitro- 
gen, which other plants utilize as food. All 
legumes should be turned under about the time 
of blossoming to get the best results. Hen 
manure should be mixed with land plaster or 
gypsum. 

Barnyard manure should be confined in a 
pit with a clay bottom or in a rock built tank 
vjith a cement bottom or a tank built entirely 

[70] 



with cement, sand and rock. The pit should 
have a cover. Wet the manure and turn over 
two or three times during the summer. Horse 
and cow manure should be mixed, as they are 
helpful to each other. Gypsum should be add- 
ed to prevent loss of ammonia or spread on 
the stable floor and thrown out with the man- 
ure. 



NITRATE OF SODA 

Is a very stimulating plant food. Very 
little should be used at one time and it 
may be rolled or pounded fine and mixed with 
sand, about half and half, before it is used. 
Apply it in small quantities a few days apart 
as a tonic, to get the best results. Place the 
dry mixture on the ground and wash it into 
the soil with water. A tablespoonful to each 
plant is enough. Under its influence you will 
see a decided change. The leaves will turn 
darker green and new roots will start and the 
plant will make rapid growth. Care must be 
taken not to place nitrate of soda too near the 
stem or leaves as it will burn and destroy the 
life. Placed around the plant the ground will 
absorb the salts, or it can be hoed into the soil. 
Water will dissolve it and carry it down to 

[71] 



the roots. A small quantity does a great amount 
of good, while the use of large quantities is 
harmful. The yield of the crop will be limited 
only by the quantity of nitrates the plant can 
assimilate. It is of special use for forcing, and 
the rapid development of vines and young 
plants. It does its best work in one season 
with quick results and large returns. It will 
sweeten sour land. Nitrate of soda is supposed 
to have been formed by the gradual decomposi- 
tion of the manures of large and small marine 
animals and vegetable matter. 



NITRATE OF SODA 

Is found in Chili. The beds of nitrate 
are several thousand feet above the sea 
in a rainless region on a desert plain. The 
deposit is about twenty miles wide and seven- 
ty-five long. The surface of the bed is cov- 
ered with earth and rock called costra. This 
varies in thickness from three to ten feet. It 
is blasted and removed to uncover the caliche 
or crude nitrate which averages three feet in 
thickness. The crude nitrate is dissolved and 
refined in boiling water in huge vats. The 
water is run off and the nitrate is collected in 
crystals like common salt. This is the nitrate 

VJ2\ 



of soda of commerce. It retails at from six to 
seven cents a pound. Ton lots are much less. 
In hilly land well rotted manure spread on 
the ground in early spring and plowed under 
does more good than the old way of carting the 
fresh manure out in the field and letting the 
rain wash it out all winter. On level ground 
the reverse will apply. 



7Z 



"Plants are an organized being, originating from a 
germ and nourished solely by inorganic substance." 



PLANT FOOD 

The Assimilation of Salts. 

Plants require water, air, light and heat, cul- 
tivation and fertile soil. Every crop removes 
from the soil a certain amount of plant food. 
Manure and nitrates must be added to restore 
fertility. Plant food in the soil comes from 
decayed vegetable matter, salts and minerals 
found in the ground. 

The three constituents of the soil most drawn 
upon by vegetables are potash, phosphoric acid 
and nitrogen. Of these most soils contain lim- 
ited amounts in available form and by contin- 
uous cropping the soil becomes exhausted and 
the plant suffers from hunger and does not 
thrive. By adding fertilizer to the soil you 
furnish the plant its necessary food. 

Humus. 
Humus is the organic matter of dead leaves, 
plants and animals that have lived and died 
upon the land. Leaf mold and peat are ex- 
amples. Humus is not essential to plant life. 
Plants do not feed upon humus but upon its 
component parts, potash, phosphoric acid and 
nitrogen, which are formed from decomposed 

[74] 



organic matter. Plant food contained in leaves 
and litter cannot be used by the plant before 
it is thoroughly decomposed. 

Lime. 

Lime is often used, not as a fertilizer, but 
as a means to improve heavy soils and correct 
the acidity in sour lands. 

Potash. 

Potash is necessary for the perfect develop- 
ment of the fruit bud, the filling out of the 
fleshy portion of the fruit and the formation 
of sugar and starch. All these give the fruit 
its rich color and flavor. 

Phosphoric Acid. 

Phosphoric acid enables the plant to assimi- 
late or make use of the other ingredients in the 
soil. It has to do with the formation of al- 
bumen and hastens the maturity of the fruit. 
Phosphoric acid is necessary for seed forma- 
tion and fertility. 

Nitrogen. 

Nitrogen promotes the growth of the leaf 
and stalk, increasing the green to a darker 
shade in the leaf and plant. Indication of ex- 
cessive nitrogen sometimes means that potash 
and phosphoric acid are not in sufficient supply 
and is indicated by rank growth of top and 
imperfect blossoms. 

[75] 



Wood Ashes. 
Wood ashes contain an average of 5 per 
cent potash and one and a half per cent of phos- 
phoric acid. It is good for loosening heavy soil. 

Virgin Soil. 

Virgin soil will produce more and larger 
fruit and vegetables than land that has been 
cropped for years, for the reason that it is rich 
in available plant food. 

Carbide (lime and charcoal) used in making 
acetylene gas is good to put on clay or adobe 
soil to make it porous and soft. Use the resi- 
due around plants and vines to kill bugs, in- 
sects and worms. When dry, grind the lime 
residue up fine and spread over the ground 
and dig in, or if in liquid form, sprinkle evenly 
over the ground and rake under. 

Plants, trees and vegetables die of old age ; 
when their alloted time on earth has passed 
they will wilt and die, just like animals. If 
vegetables or plants are not renewed from 
seed and given the necessary new life by nat- 
ure-crossing, but are renewed by cuttings, the 
plant will soon become exhausted and die and 
a desirable variety may disappear. Many 
varieties of apples and potatoes formerly in 
high favor have died out for this reason. The 
life of plants and vegetables may be prolonged 

[76] 



and productiveness greatly increased by feed- 
ing the proper plant food. Study the wants of 
your plants and supply the necessary manures. 
The plant itself will plainly indicate what its 
requirements are to the observing gardener, 
and a soil analysis is not necessary. The follow- 
ing compositions of plant food are in general 
use: 

Nitrogenous manures are composed of dried 
blood tankage, bone meal, nitrate of soda, sulphate 
of ammonia. 

Phosphate manures, tankage bone meal, 
super-phosphates, basic slag. 

Potash manure, muriate-potash, sulphate of 
potash, kainit, wood ashes. 



[77] 



He who produces a new plant, or vegetable, is a 
benefactor to mankind. 

Luther Burbank, your achievements are a monu- 
ment that will live long after j^ou are gone. . . . 



CROSSING 

Crossing of different varieties of plants may 
be done by design or accident. Accidental 
crossing is done by bees and insects carrying 
the pollen, attached to their legs, bodies, or 
antennae, from one flower to another. 

By design of man, by placing the pollen in 
certain female flowers with a fine brush and 
securing against further accidental polleniza- 
tion, by covering the flower with a paper bag, 
tied at the mouth around the base of the blos- 
som. Also by planting different varieties of the 
same kind close together. 

A single cross of two varieties, say of squash, 
may produce a new variety much stronger and 
more productive than either parent, but the 
second planting of the seed, from the new vari- 
ety, will often prove a failure. It may be only 
one in a thousand that proves and holds good. 
The writer once had a new variety of squash, 
a cross between the Summer and Hubbard. It 
produced twenty-seven good size squash, aver- 
aging seven pounds each, or 189 pounds to one 
vine, but the plants from this seed were only 
ordinary. 

[78] 



"Fie upon thee, pest." 

PESTS 

The Cut Worm. 

A light olive green worm about an inch long 
with strong mandibles or nippers. It is found 
in the loose soil at the place it had its last 
meal. It goes into the ground in the daytime 
and works its nefarious trade at night, like 
any robber. It changes from a worm into a 
red chrysalis and again into a moth, called the 
gothic dart moth. Kill him on sight. 

To prevent the cut worm cutting off your 
tomato and other plants, wrap paper around 
the stem before planting, as he will not cut 
through the paper. Or sprinkle wood ashes 
around the plant. He does not like to crawl 
over the ashes. Kainit of potash salt is often 
helpful in destroying this and other under- 
ground pests. 

There is a small white worm that destroys 
young squash vines by boring into the stem 
and root and killing the vine. It is the larv^ of 
a small beetle v/ith two yellow stripes on its 
back and looks like a lady-bug. It is called the 
cucumber beetle. Use lime around the root 
to destroy the worm. Some may think toads 
are a pest, if found in large numbers. No, the 
toad is the gardeners best friend. It destroys 
cut worms, bugs and beetles. 

[79] 



Com Worms. 
Open the ear of corn while in the silk and 
you will find a large pink and white worm eat- 
ing its way through the young corn kernels, 
down the husk into the cob. It is the larvae of 
a beautiful moth. The larvae enters the ground 
to pupitate, after filling up on the milky corn. 
Destroy the worm "before it turns." 

Aphis. 

It attacks flowers and leaves. It is a small 
winged insect. Color white, yellow and brown. 
They are about three-eighths of an inch long 
with soft bodies. They are easily killed with a 
spray of soap and water, or take tobacco stems 
and boil them in water, use the juice with more 
water added to spray the plants. Whale oil 
soap dissolved in water is a good compound, 
but rather disagreeable to use. 

Slugs and Snails. 
They generally work at night and can be 
found in the daytime under the leaves and in 
dark places, under boards. Take a lantern and 
hunt them at night. Slacked lime placed 
around the plant will keep them away. Salt 
placed on their bodies will dissolve them. 



[80] 



Squash Bugs. 

Look out for squash bugs in the month of 
June. The bug is about half an inch long, the 
female being a little larger than the male and 
they are usually found in pairs. The female 
lays its eggs on the under part of the stem of 
the leaf. The eggs are brown, the size of a 
pin head and arranged in rows. The young 
bugs grow rapidly and are as destructive as 
the parents. The small bugs are bluish black 
and soft, without wings. The adult is about 
three-fourths of an inch long with black body 
and a narrow line of yellow running around 
the outside of the body and head. The body 
under the wings is red. They work at night, 
but are found around the stem and under the 
leaves in the early morning. Catch them and 
immerse them in kerosene, placed in a tin can. 
Put lime water around the roots and dust 
slacked lime over the plant around its base to 
keep them away. 

Use tobacco stems soaked in hot water and 
cool before using. Pour the mixture around 
the roots of squash and melon vines to kill the 
larvae of the striped beetle, which bore into 
the roots and kill the vines. 

Saltpetre will kill insects and is a good ma- 
nure. Dissolve one pound of saltpetre in four 
gallons of water. 

[81] 



Weeds. 

If we do not keep the garden clear of weeds 
they will rob the vegetables of plant food and 
moisture, as they are stronger and the vege- 
table will dry up and die. We are doing our 
best to grow vegetables, and the sooner the 
young weeds are destroyed the better. If al- 
lowed to grow the roots get longer and harder 
to pull up. Weeds are very unsightly in the 
garden and should never be allowed to grow, 
even in unused places. A garden does not look 
thrifty, or neat, if one weed is in sight. 

A certain kind of weed will grow thickly in 
a certain place for one year and the next sea- 
son almost disappear. The seed seems to run 
out and the plant food is exhausted for that 
kind of weed. 

The pig-weed is the most common of our 
weeds. When you think you have hoed up all 
the weeds this small summer weed will grow 
fast and you will have to go over the same 
ground two or three times before you have 
killed them all. The ground is full of weed 
seed. As you plow or turn up new soil you 
will expose seed that have been waiting gen- 
erations for a chance to grow. You can never 
get rid of weeds in the garden, but discourage 
their growth with the hoe and never allow a 
weed to mature and scatter its seed. 

You can kill weeds and grass on a path or 
playground by sprinkling the weeds with a hot 
brine of salt and water. 

[82] 



Gophers and Moles. 

Set a trap as soon as you discover an open 
hole or fresh mound of earth, where the gopher 
has thrown the dirt out. Place the trap in as 
far as you can reach, about a foot, and cover 
up the hole. Be careful when you pull the trap 
out, as you may have caught him by the skin 
of the belly or one toe and will tear the skin 
and he will escape. If the trap does not come 
out easily dig him out and take no chances. 
Gophers are herbivorous and destroy vegeta- 
bles, plants and trees. You can poison them 
with a little arsenic placed in a turnip, carrot, 
raisin or prune. Place the poisoned fruit in 
the hole and cover up the opening. Use gloves 
on your hands when you set a trap or use 
poison, to keen the scent of your body from 
the animal you wish to destroy. Sometimes 
you can drown him out with water from the 
garden hose. 



[83] 



Moles. 

Moles are insectivorous and do not de- 
stroy vegetation, with premeditation and afore- 
thought. They sometimes work in a new 
sown bed and push the ground up, disarrange 
the seed and even kill young plants by up- 
rooting them. They make these burrows 
when they are hunting for worms and insects, 
but it is just as well not to have them for vis- 
itors. Cats will catch and eat gophers but 
they do not like moles or blue jays. Some- 
times you can catch a mole in a gopher trap, 
but it is an accident and not worth the trouble 
of setting a trap. This is the best way to de- 
stroy them. Watch and catch them working 
and pressing the earth up ; force a spade down 
behind the moving earth and throw the mole 
out and destroy him. Moles may be driven 
away by obstructing their passageways with 
sticks dipped in tar. 



[84] 



BORDEAUX MIXTURE 

This is the most common spray in use and 
is the reason we give the recipe for making 
it. It will kill the scale, mildew, worms and 
diseases of plants and trees. 

Dissolve four pounds of sulphate of copper 
in four or more gallons of water. Take four 
pounds of unslacked lime and place in a tub 
and add water until slacked. When the lime 
has cooled, pour it into the copper solution. 
Mix the fluid by constant stirring. Add water 
to make 40 gallons. Strain through a cloth or 
burlap before using, so as not to clog up the 
fine mesh of the spraying machine. 



[85] 



TO THE READER 



I hope the book will strike you right, 
For I have tried with all my might. 

And trust, a tiny ray of light, 

May cross my path to make it bright. 



[86] 



AN APOLOGY 



Reader, excuse my verse and jingle, 
Where grey-matter and soil so intermingle, 
The subject was so dirt dry, 
A bit of fun I thought I'd try. 



[the end.] 



[87] 



INDEX 



Page 

A Man and A Hoe 3 

Aphis 80 

Apology, An 87 

Artichokes 16-17 

Artichokes, Jerusalem 17 

Artichokes, Cardoons 17 

Asparagus 18-19-20 

Assimilation of Salts, The 74 

Beans 21-22-23-24 

Beets 25 

Bordeaux Mixture 85 

Brussel Sprouts 26 

Cabbage 28 

Cantaloupe 43 

Carrots 29 

Casaba Melon 43 

Cauliflower 27 

Celeriac 31 

Celery 30 

Chard 32 

Chives 32 

Citron Melons 44 

Collards 35 

Corn 33-34 

Corn Salad and Fetticus. . . 35 

Corn Worms 80 

Crossing 78 

Cucumber 35 

Cut Worms 79 

Dandelion 36 



Page 

Dedicated to 2 

Dent Corn 33 

Directions for Planting and 

Preparation of Soil 12 

Egg Plant 37 

Endives 36 

English Marrow Squash ... 60 

Garlic 38 

Garvanza Pea 56 

Gophers and Moles 83 

Herbes 39 

Hinged Man 7 

Horse Beans 24 

Horse Radish .• 38 

Hot Bed 9 

Humus 74 

Introduction 6 

Implements 8 

Irrigation 68-69 

Kale 39 

Kohl Rabi 39 

Leek 41 

Lentils 41 

Lettuce 40 

Lima Beans 23 

Lime 75 

Manures 70-71 

Melons 42-43-44 

Moles 84 



INDEX 



Page 

Muskmelon 42 

New England Pie Pump- 
kins 60 

Nile Pea 56 

Nitrate of Soda 71-72-73 

Nitrogen 75 

Nutmeg Melon 43 

Okra or Gumbo 48 

Onions 45-46-47 

Oyster Plant 48 

Parsnips 48 

Peas 55-56 

Peppers 49 

Phosphoric Acid 75 

Pests 79 to 84 

Pie Plant 57 

Plant Food 74 to 77 

Popcorn 34 

Potash 75 

Potatoes 50 to 54 

Potatoes, Sweet 53-54 

Potato Onion 47 

Potato Scab 52 

Preface 4-5 

Pumpkins 59-60 



Page 

Radish 57 

Rhubarb 57 

Rocambole 38 

Roots 67 

Salsify 48 

Seed 10-11 

Shallots 58 

Slugs 80 

Snails 80 

Spinach 58 

Squash 59-60 

Squash Bugs 81 

Summer Squash, The 60 

Sweet Corn 33 

Table of Planting in Cali- 
fornia 13-14-15 

The Garden Patch 1 

Tin Cans 64-65 

To the Reader 86 

Tomatoes 61 to 65 

Turnips 66 

Virgin Soil 76 

Watermelon 42 

Weeds 82 

Wood Ashes 76 



The Hicks-Judd Co., Printers, S1-6S First St., San Francisco, CaU 



DEC 28 1912 



